Stickers, books, and the DRA

My school does not have a library, but I was fortunate to receive a good supply of used books from different places and people to create a pretty large classroom library. I then began debating how to organize these books.  Since I wanted to teach my students how to find "good-fit" books, I thought I could simply organize my library by genre and call it a day!  Two challenges surfaced - 1. Children's book genres boil down to two major categories - animal fiction and realistic fiction :) 2. Students continue to pick books that were either too challenging or too easy.

I decided that it was time to bite the bullet, take home loads of books in my car, and level my library. This will give me more insight into what books fit different students and ensure that kids are picking appropriate books. I decided to level my library by DRA level using the Scholastic Book Wizard (here!). Many episodes of "Mad Men" on netflix and hours later...the job is finished!